


Ghost Next Door

by Rucksack (wingblade)



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Modern Era, Portland Oregon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-01
Updated: 2014-11-01
Packaged: 2018-02-23 10:32:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2544311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wingblade/pseuds/Rucksack
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"There's a ghost living next door," Riku tells Sora. "But don't worry — he only likes blonds."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ghost Next Door

**Author's Note:**

> Around a year ago, someone on tumblr requested that I write more Riku/Sora! I wrote this months ago but never posted it because I felt like it could be expanded upon... But here it is, anyways. A weird little story for Halloween. Happy Halloween!

Sora's parents bought their new, spacious, two-bedroom house at nearly half price. They wondered, of course, but with the twins leaving for college in the fall, they didn't ask. The amount of money they were saving was enormous, and they weren't a wealthy family to begin with. Sora and Vanitas' after school activities consisted of clipping coupons and thumbing through the piles of ads they received with all the junk mail, while their parents worked double-shifts. Everyone worked together to keep the family afloat.

The first time Sora sees the new house is when they're moving in. Packing up and trekking across the state to be closer to the twins' new school at such a cheap price hadn't taken much thought. He looks up at it: it's one story, with an attic and a fresh coat of blue paint. Vanitas already claimed the attic for his own. He's carrying all his own stuff up into the house first, naturally, and when he brushes past his brother, Sora can see he hasn't even bothered to put in the yellow contacts he insists on wearing everyday. Sora hadn't seen the natural blue of his eyes — mirroring his own — in months.

After Sora finishes unpacking, he looks through the house again and then decides to explore the neighborhood. As he's making sure he locked the door behind him, there's a tap on his shoulder. He spins around, gaze zoning in on the silver-haired man with light blue eyes standing before him.

"You must be the new neighbors," the man says, his voice friendly but with a hint of mischief. "I'm Riku."

"My name's Sora." Riku's eyes flicker across his face curiously and Sora looks down at his feet. "Have you lived here long?"

Riku answers, "My whole life, actually," and then they begin to walk down the sidewalk together. They chat amicably as Riku shows him around the neighborhood. Everything looks pretty boring and normal to Sora, until they loop back around the block and the brunet looks closer at the house around the corner from his.

"Whoa." The long, spiraling driveway is cracking and thick patches of weeds are sprouting up from the gaps. The lawn is overgrown, looking more like a jungle than anything else, and the house itself definitely hasn't seen any new paint this century. "Who lives _there_?"

"Hmm?" Riku looks up at the house, following Sora's gaping eyes. "Oh, yeah. There's a ghost living next door," Riku tells Sora, leaning in to whisper against his ear. "But don't worry — he only likes blonds."

Sora's new friend is completely invading his personal space, and his usual reaction would be to jump away, but now he finds he cannot. His heart races and he wonders if he even wants to. The way Riku said it — almost teasingly — made it sound like he himself isn't a big fan of blonds. Maybe he likes brunets.

Finally Sora chokes out, "Jeeze, Riku. You're so full of it."

The silver-haired man leans back and crosses his arms. "Hmm, maybe. But I will tell you this: a boy went missing around here a few years ago. His twin said there was a ghost with red hair who pulled his brother into the house."

Sora tries to shake off the creepy feeling in his chest at hearing about foul play involving twins. "That doesn't mean it had to do with the house, though."

"You're right. But the last owner had a niece who went missing. And before that, it was owned by a guy who worked at the casino who disappeared. And can you guess what they all had in common?" Sora gulps as Riku swoops in closer, his lips brushing against his ear once more. "They all — had — _blond hair!_ "

This time, Sora does jump, and Riku laughs.

"Whatever," scoffs Sora, spooked by his new friend's tale. "I bet you haven't even been in there!" When Riku's laughter quickly dies out, Sora jokes, "What? You scared?"

"I'm not scared."

"You are!" Sora grabs Riku's arm and starts leading him backwards slowly, careful of what may be lingering within the overgrown lawn. The brightness of his companion's eyes has faded to a dull luster. Sora surmises he really is afraid of the house, so as their feet finally scuff against the concrete of the porch, Sora moves Riku's hands to wrap around his own waist. The two teens brush their noses together, and Sora leans up to press a light kiss to the other man's lips.

"Still afraid?" he asks sheepishly.

"I am _not_  afraid of the darkness," Riku blurts out, his hands tightening slightly around Sora's waist.

Sora blinks. _So that's what it is..._

"We could have brought a flashlight," Sora points out gently, kissing the man again to comfort him. "Everyone's afraid of the dark at some point, right?"

"Just... if you're gonna go, then go, okay? I like you, but it'll start getting dark soon, and then I'll..."

"Hey." Sora places a hand on Riku's shoulder, and Riku lowers his eyes. "I don't think any less of you because of it. I'll check it out, and I'll come tell you it's not so bad. Okay? You just wait here." The shorter teen smiles before hopping up the steps. The front door is easy to open; it's not even locked, nor is it stuck shut. "See, Riku!" he calls out. "Good so far!"

* * *

But then when the darkness of the house swallows his friend whole, Riku can't help but dread ever having come.

* * *

Inside, everything is dusty, but Sora expected this. What little furniture there is remains covered in white sheets. There are pictures covering the walls — drawings torn from a sketchbook. The one taped to the wall next to the staircase is a sketch of two people: one with bright red hair, and another blond. Confused intrigue stretched across his face, Sora moves to step onto the first stair, but there's a strange noise behind him now — almost like the crackling of a fire. Sora turns... and comes face to face with a tall, redheaded man with the greenest eyes he has ever seen.

"Roxas?" the man chokes, the sadness in his voice striking Sora to the bone.

"No, I'm Sor —"

Bringing him into his arms — a morbid embrace — the man's touch is cold, but it sears Sora's skin. He screams.

The ghost murmurs, "Roxas, Roxas," and kisses Sora passionately, his hold tight and lips burning. Something in Sora makes him feel obliged to comply, and so he returns the touch, pressing his body against the warmth of the spirit. The man pauses before pulling away. "No... You're not Roxas." His eyes open wide, scanning Sora's face. The remaining light from sunset is fading away until all Sora can see are those green, green eyes.

"I'm _Sora_ ," he stammers. The redhead looks at him, almost as if he's looking through his body and into something Sora can't quite comprehend; something invisible the naked eye cannot discern.

"You're not Roxas, but you have his eyes."

"It — His... eyes?"

" _Yesss_ ," the ghost slurs, his grip on Sora's shoulders painful as he pulls him into the finality of oblivion. "You have his eyes..."

Sora sees now how very wrong Riku had been. _Is he still waiting for me?_  he wonders. _Will anyone look for me? Will Vanitas even miss me?_

And then he sleeps.

* * *

When Sora opens his eyes, there is someone leaning over him — around his age, perhaps. He has golden hair and blue eyes like the sea when it's calm.

"Are you...Roxas?" Sora asks, his throat dry and heavy.

The man shakes his head. "No, Roxas is my brother," he explains sadly. "He got away. I'm Ventus. You can call me Ven."

So this is the one whose twin had been pulled into the house. The story doesn't seem so farfetched now. Sora thinks to himself, _It's all true, isn't it? And there must be more of us. Just how many...?_

Ven helps Sora up, and his skin is neither warm nor cold; not soft or rough. Sora nearly falls through him completely.

"And what does... he want with your brother?"

"I think he loves him a lot. He's been waiting for so long..."

There's a crackle in the air again, and Sora can feel the heat; can smell the burn. Of what, he's scared to find out.

"C'mon," Ven says, leading Sora into the room he once called living. "Axel isn't the most patient guy in the world."

The most prominent figure in the room Sora's led to is that of the redhead — Axel, with his long hair trailing past his shoulders, pouring over to tickle his collarbone — but he is surrounded by many, many faces: some with blond hair, but all brought together by the deep blue of their eyes.

None of them are Roxas, and yet all are cursed with an eternity of keeping Axel company until the reunion.


End file.
